Carbin Reef, Sagay City

TRAVEL DATE: Multiple Times :)

One of the northern cities of the Province of Negros Occidental is the Sagay City. Sagay City celebrates its yearly festival every March, the Sinigayan Festival. Sinigayan Festival showcases the different marine life that the city has to offer. The city proper is located near the seashore and the richness of its seas are very welcoming and rich in biodiversity.

They actually have the "Museo Sang Bata" which features some marine lives that can be found in their city:

On this city's seas you can find the famous "Carbin Reef". Carbin Reef is a man-made white sand bar surrounded by different types of corals, colorful fishes, and other marine life and it houses the sanctuary of abalones and giant clams.

From Sagay City Proper, ride a tricycle going to Old Sagay and the fare is around PHP 10 per person. From Old Sagay port, try to negotiate with the "Bantay Dagat" office for a pump boat service going to the Island.

The pump boat roughly cost PHP 1,000 to PHP 2,000 for back and forth trip depending upon the number of passengers and how big the pump boat will be.

 

The travel time is around 30 minutes but don't worry because Carbin Reef is already visible even from afar. The Bantay-Dagat carefully maintains the place and the local city government built a watch-tower for their personnel to have a place to stay while manning the reef.

! Things that you should bring are as follows:

1.) Tent or Canopy - there are not much cottages / tents on the reef because it is only a small island.
2.) Food and Drinks - well this is always a MUST!
3.) Snorkeling and Diving Gears - to get a clearer and nearer view of the coral reefs.
4.) Medicines / Anti-allergies - if you are sea-sick or have some water allergies
5.) Sunblock lotion - the heat is INTENSE there! Seriously.

TRAVEL TIP: The local dialect widely spoken here is Hiligaynon but a number of people also know how to speak the Cebuano dialect.

Some snapshots for your eyes only:

   

Jumpshot moments? - CAPTURED!

 

You will definitely enjoy your summer plans in Carbin Reef, Sagay City, Negros Occidental. I guarantee that!

Lemery, Batangas

TRAVEL DATE: October 30 - 31, 2011

Part I: "The Unplanned Trip" Escapade

This is how it all started.

"The loooong vacation is coming"... and a day before the 30th of October, we decided to meet and  plan our travel outing to treat ourselves with a worthy relaxation day. Batangas was the place we instantly had in mind because it's near Metro Manila and the fare was cheap.

We searched the internet and found the place Lemery in Batangas. All of us didn't know where the hell this place was located but all we know was that its van terminal was located in Starmall Edsa. We looked for some places to stay and saved the places' contact details. And there we go, all set for the unplanned trip!

Call Time was 2PM but since we have the Filipino habit, we all arrived at 3PM! We then boarded the van to Lemery, Batangas and it took us about 3 hours going there. Well, we had fun moments and chit-chats inside the van and at the same time, we we're still contacting various resorts for a place to stay good for 6 persons. Text message sent, call here, call there!

We arrived Lemery Public Market at around 6:30PM and it was already dark. We rode the Tricycle going to "Villa Leonor", the place we all chose. Villa Leonor is a 15-minute tricycle ride from the Lemery market and the fare is around PHP 30 each.

TRAVEL TIP: Don't expect much from Villa Leonor since it's only an ordinary outing place for families and friends but it's not that bad though. :)

Pictures!

We stayed in a single non-airconditioned room with electric fan and a double-deck that can accommodate 4 persons and we asked for additional 2 mattresses with pillows and linens. The resort staff was very accommodating and very kind to us and that's a plus factor.

Room Accommodation

It was my colleague's 23rd Birthday so we also brought some cakes and drinks to celebrate it. Our purpose of getting here was to only relax and unwind, and escape from the busy Manila life, and the place was just perfectly right.

The next morning, we woke up kinda late and well, since it's an unplanned trip, we basically did not have any plans.

Since the place was just beside the seashore, we talked to some local fishermen and asked them if we could rent their boats and have a boat ride. Well, we had a good deal because we only paid PHP 50 per person for 30-minute tour. It's pretty cheap!

 

 After the short boat-trip, we joined a volleyball game together with other guests, and we also grabbed the chance to swim in the swimming pool and played water charades! (Please comment on this post if you want to know the mechanics of Water Charade!)

The experience was fun and carefree. On our way home, we passed by the famous Mang Inasal Restaurant along Lemery Public Market and we had lunch first. For everybody's information, Mang Inasal first popularized the "Kanin-all-you-can" promo or the rice-all-you-can promo in the Philippines.
 

We chose another route going home by the way. We rode the jeepney going to Tagaytay, where the famous Taal Volcano is located, and there we continued our journey...with our tired faces... :)

Travel Budget: PHP 1,100.00 all in!